People

A student and a high school principal who fought attempts to censor
students' news stories have been named the first recipients of the
Courage in Student Journalism Awards.

The Newseum, a museum of the newspaper and broadcasting industries
based in Arlington, Va., will present the awards annually to school
officials and student journalists who have championed the rights of the
student press.

Dan Vagasky, 15, then an 8th grader at Otsego Middle School
in Otsego, Mich., was selected for his stand against censorship of his
school paper, the Bulldog Express.

The former editor in chief sought to publish a story in February
1997 about a shoplifting incident on a school field trip. Although they
acknowledged its accuracy, school officials stopped publication of the
story. The Otsego schools superintendent told the local daily newspaper
that he opposed running the story because it reflected poorly on the
2,434-student district.

The dispute provoked the district to shut down the Bulldog
Express. Mr. Vagasky then took his case to federal court.

Now a freshman at Otsego High School, Mr. Vagasky is awaiting an
out-of-court settlement with the school board that would prevent
officials from rejecting an article solely because it might portray the
district in a negative light. The board is expected to meet this month
to approve the settlement.

Phillip F. Gainous, the principal of 2,400-student Montgomery
Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md., was honored for publicly
backing his students in protesting the district superintendent's
refusal to air "Shades of Grey," a student-produced television program
that included a panel discussion of same-sex marriages.

The Montgomery County school board sided with the principal and his
students, and the show was broadcast on the county cable system last
May.

Mr. Vagasky won $5,000, and Mr. Gainous was awarded $5,000 to be
used for his school's journalism program.

The Newseum is underwritten by the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan
foundation dedicated to a free press and free speech.

Seattle schools Superintendent John Stanford headed home last
week after being released from the Virginia Mason Medical Center. Mr.
Stanford, 59, entered the hospital last month to begin chemotherapy for
leukemia, which is now in remission. ("Stanford's Illness Dampens Spirits in Seattle,"
April 15, 1998.)

The retired U.S. Army major general became Seattle's superintendent
in 1995. He will return to running the 47,000-student district, working
half-days until he regains his strength.